Last Embrace
by Summer-Lightning
Summary: Endgame Spoilers. Do not read the story if you haven't finished the game. Just a little something I wrote after I finished the game. It is kind of an "epilogue" to the ending because it left me unsatisfied.


Last Embrace

Everything had happened so fast.

The rise of the new Cocoon, Serah's last breath, taking the form of a thank you, and then came the darkness which consumed everything.

Sazh landed the airship immediately after the dark wind had vanished – a sign, that the transformation of the world to a new Valhalla had been completed.

Noel held Serah tightly in his arms, pressing her head softly against his chest.  
>She had died right in front of him even though she had assured him that she was feeling fine.<p>

The eighteen-year-old wasn't one to cry, but he didn't bother to hide the tears flowing down his cheeks.

Only two words occupied his mind:

_Serah died._

He had known the danger that came with the ability to see the future. Heck, they had been even warned!  
>He should have known best, having lost Yeul the same way.<p>

Noel's body trembled, while he tried to fight against his sobs.

He had been no help to her. And not only that, he was the one responsible that their world was now an empty place without time.

Caius's words still lingered in the back of his mind.  
>If he hadn't killed him…<p>

"Noel." Hope's voice brought him back to reality.

The young hunter looked up with desperate blue eyes.  
>It startled Hope to see such a glance from the ever so confident and cocky boy, but the silver-haired man could understand. He didn't feel any better.<p>

"Let's take her inside the airship. We shouldn't stay for too long outside."

Noel knew that he was right.  
>Chaos had just consumed the world with its darkness. Who knows what would await them from now on?<br>He nodded and raised the pink-haired girl's body from the ground.

It hurt him to see her pale and lifeless face.  
>With a gulp, he told himself to keep it together and followed Hope, who was still holding the unconscious moogle in his hands, to the inside of the airship.<p>

* * *

><p>They laid her on a bed on one of the ship's many cabins and made their way to the control center where Sazh, Alyssa and a few members of Hope's team waited for them.<p>

Sazh already understood what had happened on deck.  
>"Is Serah really…?" He couldn't bring himself to speak the words aloud.<p>

Noel and Hope exchanged a short glance, then nodded at the same time.

The room became dead silent.

However, the silence didn't last long. A few minutes later a female voice could be heard shouting from the hall.  
>"Wait! You can't just barge in there!"<p>

"Whatcha talking about missy? Let me talk to your boss, we want to know what's going on!" Another female voice answered.

"I don't think that's a good idea…" A third voice complained worriedly.

The group changed curious glances, for the voices they heard were very familiar ones, then the door was opened violently.

For a moment time stood still and there was happiness.

Hope and Sazh's eyes widened when the two women entered.  
>They seemed surprised at first, but that surprise yielded and made place for happiness only seconds later.<p>

"Fang! Vanille!"

"Sazh!" Vanille yelped happily. She stormed off to hug her old friend. "You haven't changed a bit!"

"I guess that's what time travelling does." He answered slightly amused at her childish behavior.

"Are the others here too?" She inquired curiously.

Hope cleared his throat, seemingly a bit upset that Vanille didn't even notice him, which caused the nineteen-year-old looking female to look around.  
>She spotted Hope, as did Fang.<br>Both needed a few moments until they realized that it was indeed the Hope they knew who stood before them.

"You have grown." Fang stated with a grin, breaking the short silence that came with their amazement.

Vanille was dumbfounded.  
>For her, Hope had been just a little fourteen-year old, struggling with many things in his young life as l'Cie.<br>But the man who stood in front of her was no little boy anymore. He grew tall and his behavior and stance showed the maturity he didn't posses as child.

"I'm really happy to see you two alright." Hope smiled and Vanille hugged him too.

"You really _have_ grown." She stated, still stunned.

"How did you get out of crystal stasis?" Noel asked and his question brought everyone back to reality.

The two Pulsian women shrugged.  
>"No idea. But our brands are gone, as if they never existed." Fang answered. "Though something tells me it wasn't the goddesses doing this time…"<p>

Vanille looked around.

Hope's personnel still seemed pretty shocked about the fact that the two Pulsian women got suddenly out of their stasis before they could even start research.

Even Hope himself had troubles to come up with an explanation, though he remembered that when they were branded by the fal'Cie Anima he and the others were drawn into another space-time of some sort. And now that time basically didn't exist… It was only a theory though.

"Are only you and Sazh here, Hope?" She inquired.

Fang suddenly remembered a few things that had happened from when they were inside the crystal pillar.  
>"Snow was time-travelling too… He might be around here with his luck. But where is Serah? We helped her get out of that dream…"<p>

Noel averted his gaze.

"And what about Light?" Vanille added.

Fang and Vanille could literally feel how the joyful atmosphere from their reunion was drained from the room.

The younger woman gulped. "Where are Lightning and Serah?" She asked again.  
>All the joy she had felt upon seeing Sazh and Hope was gone. Somehow she knew that she didn't want to hear the answer.<br>Her heart grew anxious.

Fang stepped up to Noel.

"You were supposed to be with her. What happened?" She asked sternly.

He couldn't bring himself to look at Fang's green eyes when he answered.  
>With his head hanging low he said: "I couldn't protect her."<p>

Vanille approached them slowly; horror was writ in her face. "No way…"

"She saw a vision from this changed future, with her life as the tribute."

Noel gulped, not wanting to remember what happened not even a day ago.  
>"She died… and for what? The world is consumed by Chaos."<p>

It made him furious and endlessly sad at the same time when he realized that her last vision must have been from the future they lived right now.  
>She died upon gazing at the world's end.<p>

He expected Fang to shout at him, to blame him – maybe even hit him – but nothing happened.

"Did she have any last words?" Vanille's voice was only a whisper. She was shaking, struggling to keep her emotions under control.

His voice was about to break.  
>"She said… she said 'thanks'."<br>As he spoke, he wondered at the same time what she had meant with that.

Fang drew back and only shook her head in dismay.

"I don't know what happened to Lightning. Caius claimed that he killed her. Back then I was convinced that he lied to provoke us, but now… I'm not so sure anymore. I don't know anything anymore. I just…"  
>He broke off.<p>

"Don't blame yourself." Sazh tried to comfort him. "I'm sure you did your best to protect her."

"How would you know?" Noel muttered bitterly to himself and fell into silence.

* * *

><p>A felt hour passed in which Hope and his team observed the world's new state, to get a first impression of their new, doomed world.<p>

The results were crushing.

The Valhalla Noel had been to had extended over all known places. He knew too well what this meant.  
>The world was a timeless place now. There was no future and no present. Everything and everyone was trapped in this so called invisible world.<br>Caius had achieved his goal.

* * *

><p>It was dark in Serah's room.<br>Noel had his own cabin, but somehow he didn't have the heart to leave Serah alone, even though he knew that she was gone.  
>No… maybe it was <em>because<em> she was gone, that he couldn't let her on her own. So he sat with empty eyes beside her on the bed.

He remembered how they talked about taking the risk to change the future and how it could kill her, if she saw the change in her vision.  
>Serah wanted to fight anyway, though she had also asked him what it was like after death.<p>

Noel wondered the same.  
>What was it like when a person died? Where did their soul go, now, that the world of the living was Valhalla itself, the place where the souls were supposed to go?<p>

"She didn't have any regrets." A soft voice whispered into the dark room.

He looked up and saw Vanille entering the cabin.

Noel stayed silent. He just didn't know what to say.

"When she became a l'Cie, she was frightened at first and tried to deal alone with it. But with Snow she found the courage to fight her fate." Vanille told him. She kneeled down in front of the bed and examined Serah's face with a sad look.  
>"Her resolve to change the future was the same. At first she was unsure; she just wanted to find her sister. But as your journey continued the desire to save the time grew. You were with her and ultimately she shared the same wish as you."<p>

Her forest green-eyes grew watery.  
>"That's why she thanked you. Because you shared the same hopes and because you gave her the courage to fight without regrets, no matter the outcome."<p>

Noel felt a lump in his throat.  
>Vanille's words made sense, but he still didn't want to accept that the vision that killed his friend was apocalyptic and nothing like they wished for.<br>It just felt as if she had died in vain.

"Noel, I've been thinking… Well, I and the others of course. We want to put Serah's body at rest…" She began hesitantly, not knowing how he would handle her words.

"Yeah… we cannot leave her here to rot. No one would want that."  
>He looked through the room window at the darkness outside. He spotted Etro's shrine somewhere in the distance.<br>Was Lightning still there? Even if, did that really matter anymore?

"I know a place where we could lay her to rest."

* * *

><p>The former l'Cie and Noel quickly gathered to make their way to the shrine.<br>The hunter carried Serah on his back. He had volunteered to do so, but her cold body felt as heavy as his guilt was.

However, it was a little easier now to think rational about the happenings. Maybe, if he had a clear mind, he would find a way out of this mess. A way out for the world.

A few monsters appeared on their way.  
>Sazh, Fang and Vanille fought them easily off though. Sazh had mastered the use of magic in a similar manner as Noel and Serah and Fang and Vanille, being huntresses in the past, had no problems to fend the monsters of, even without their magic.<p>

* * *

><p>They reached Etro's shrine.<p>

As Noel ascended the stairs he felt a shadow overlapping him.  
>Alarmed, he tightened his muscles, ready to fight the enemy of if he had to. But upon looking upstairs, his powers left him immediately.<p>

The shadow didn't belong to an enemy.  
>It was Snow's.<p>

"Hey, guys." He greeted the group with his usual cheerful grin, despite the circumstances.

"Snow!"  
>They didn't expect him to be here. It had been <em>possible<em>, because he could travel through time like Sazh, but they didn't expect it.  
>Not here, not now.<p>

"What's with Serah? Tired from all the fighting?"  
>The blonde man descended the stairs, one at a time, and Noel felt the urge to run away. How could he even look into Snow's eyes after he had promised to protect his fiancée?<br>How could he look at him while carrying Serah's corpse on his back?

"Serah, wake up…" Snow called her with a soft and loving voice. "Your hero is here." He reached them and stretched his hand to stroke her cheeks.

"Snow…!" Noel wanted to stop him, but he was paralyzed.

Snow's hand touched her cheek and he immediately knew that something was off.  
>The cold skin, the pale face, maybe it was the missing breathing.<p>

"Serah…"

The sadness in Snow's voice was almost unbearable. No one could look directly at him.

"It can't be…"

"Snow, I'm sorry…" Noel whispered.

No one expected what would happen next.

Snow grabbed Noel by his shirt and lifted him of his feet, which caused Serah to fall from his back.  
>Luckily, Vanille managed to grasp her.<p>

"You were supposed to protect her!" The blond man shouted.

"I know!" Noel cried. "And I did, but in the end… I – I…"

"In the end you let her die!" Snow finished angrily.

The younger male winced.  
>Actually, that was what he did. He just stood in front of her and let her die. He couldn't do a thing, besides to shout at the dying young woman and to beg her to snap out of her vision.<br>The brown-haired hunter hung his head in shame.

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry won't cut it… Serah is dead and…" Snow's deep blue eyes began to water. "…nothing will bring her back."

"Snow, stop it." Hope intervened. "You are hurting him. The Snow I knew would never hurt his friends or the people close to them."  
>He had never seen Snow so upset. Back then in Grand Pulse he had had doubts once about their focus and their actions, but eventually managed to stay optimistic.<br>Hope was worried because, for a moment, Snow's words had reminded him of himself when he was fourteen-years-old and had just lost his mother during the purge.  
>He had told Snow the exact same thing many years ago.<p>

Upon hearing the silver-haired man Snow snapped out of his bewilderment.  
>"I'm sorry, Noel… I know it wasn't your fault."<br>He let him down and the tears started to escape from his eyes.

"What meaning has my life without her? We wanted to raise a family and live happy together…"  
>He slowly approached Vanille who was still holding Serah and carefully cupped his fiancée's face with his hands.<p>

"Just look at yourself, Serah… so pale… You are getting me worried if you keep looking like that…"  
>His pointless efforts to talk with her left everybody to feel a new wave of sadness.<p>

They knew it was hopeless, that she couldn't hear him, but nobody dared to say anything. It was cruel to say it out loud and it would hurt Snow only more if they told him over and over again that she would never answer him.

Eventually he stopped talking and just started to cry.

Noel had known him as the big, tough guy – an outgoing, if a bit reckless, optimistic leader who had always an overly cheerful grin plastered on his face. A person everybody looked up to.

Seeing someone like him cry was one of the most painful things he ever witnessed.

Vanille started to cry with him for she couldn't take it any longer to see Snow in such a desperate state.  
>Fang tried to comfort her, but she knew that Vanille had always looked forward to meet Serah again, in a time where they both could talk and laugh together, without a care in the world.<p>

"We have to go…" Noel murmured silently, reminding the group that they still had something to do.

"Where do you want to take her?" Snow asked, his voice filled with grief.

"The only place in Valhalla where she can rest peacefully."

The blond man wiped his tears away. "Let me carry her."  
>The eighteen-year-old nodded and Snow immediately put his arms under Serah's back and legs and lifted her up.<p>

* * *

><p>First Noel lost Serah and then Chaos spread out to the world.<br>But nothing had prepared him and the others of the sight that awaited them inside Etro's shrine.

Sitting on her throne was Lightning, crystallized, with an emotionless and pale face.  
>The crystal surrounding her was different from the crystal stasis that awaited l'Cie upon completing their focus. The crystal that gifted l'Cie with so called eternal life was clear like water and had a bluish shade to it, but this one had the color of rust and her face was white as marble.<p>

Her figure sat on Etro's throne like an angel's statue over a grave.

"What happened here…?" Hope managed to bring out.

"Did Caius really… – no, she wouldn't have turned into crystal then…" Noel thought aloud.

A few other similar thoughts escaped from the other's mouths, but surprisingly, it was Fang who lost her temper this time.

"God damn it, Light!" She shouted angrily. "Did you just recklessly jump into another battle?"

"Fang…" Vanille placed her hands on Fang's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"Why…? She had always protected everyone on Grand Pulse. She was so strong… She was the one who made me believe that we could save Cocoon by fighting with our own will…"  
>Her voice gradually became quieter.<br>"Had I been really foolish enough to think that she was invincible…?"

Vanille lowered her gaze and shook her head.  
>Somehow, she had believed the same.<p>

Snow approached Lightning's crystalline figure, still holding Serah in his arms.  
>"I guess I found the best place for you to rest, Serah…"<p>

He deposed his fiancée carefully on Lightning's lap, with Serah's body leaning against her older sister's. Her head instantly found purchase on Lightning's shoulder and Snow took her right hand and put it around the crystalline figure so that it looked like Serah was hugging her sister.  
>He knew that Serah would have wanted it that way.<p>

"And the sisters are finally reunited…" Sazh commented bitterly. "I guess no one saw that one coming."

"Yeah…" Hope said wearily.

"How many years have passed since the last time we were all together?" Vanille wondered quietly.

"Way too much." Snow answered as he turned his back to the sisters. "Hey, how about that: Let's pretend this is a reunion rather than goodbye, because, in a twisted way, that's what it is."

It was a silly idea, considering what had happened in such a short amount of time around them and considering the losses that everyone bore, but they all agreed.  
>It was less painful to pretend.<p>

Suddenly, Serah's figure started glowing dimly and she became encased in crystal too, starting from the points where she touched Lightning.  
>However, her crystal had that same clear color as the l'Cie crystal stasis – a stark contrast to Lightning's darkened figure.<p>

The group exchanged glances, unsure what the meaning of this was.

* * *

><p>"We should head back. Who knows what monsters loiter around here…" Hope finally said.<p>

No one really wanted to leave. They wanted to mourn the two sisters, together with the world's fate, but they felt obliged to go back.  
>Maybe they feared that once they started mourning, they would never come to an end.<p>

So they forced themselves to head to the airship again and to think about their next steps.

Snow and Noel were the last ones who left.

"I'm sorry, Sis. I couldn't protect her…" The blond man whispered to the crystal woman, before he turned around with remorseful eyes.

"Why did Serah turn into a crystal…?" Noel asked skeptically. He didn't expect a real answer though.

"If you wanna hear my opinion… I think it was a sister's last embrace." Snow answered. "Light's way of keeping Serah close to her."

Noel gazed at the crystallized sisters as he thought about Snow's words. Maybe he was right.  
>They lived in Valhalla now, so everything he knew wasn't of importance. The laws of the living world didn't apply anymore.<p>

If what Snow said was true, then the sisters were really reunited now. Reunited and bound forever through crystal.  
>Lightning held Serah close to her now and protected her in the afterlife and Serah finally found her sister, the one person she was looking for all the time.<p>

In a strange way, both found what they were seeking.

Though Noel wasn't sure whether to cry or be happy for them under these bizarre circumstances.


End file.
